Liverpool will play West Ham in the Europa Conference League this weekend as they return to Premier League action in an effort to continue their winning streak.
Premier League (6) | Anfield September 24, 2023 | 2pm (BST) Liverpool vs. West Ham
The Reds continued their strong domestic form with a 3-1 victory away at LASK in their Europa League debut, and they are now returning immediately to Anfield to take care of Premier League matters.
After a strong start to the 2023–24 season, Jurgen Klopp will be trying to carry that momentum into Sunday’s match against West Ham.
The following are the 10 things you should be aware of before Liverpool vs. West Ham.
The “cramp” that caused Ryan Gravenberch to be substituted in the 75th minute against Austria may render him questionable for this match.
Due to their ongoing ailments, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Thiago did not participate in training on Wednesday. As a result, it is unlikely that either of them will start on Sunday.
Since West Ham played in the Europa League even later than Liverpool on Thursday night, neither team has much breathing room before this match.
When the Reds set off at 5.45 p.m., the Hammers’ European campaign against Backa Topola began at 8 p.m.
However, David Moyes’ team was at home and did not need to take a flight home like the Liverpool team did after their 3-1 victory over LASK in Austria.
3. Fast start for the visitors
The Hammers have had a strong start to the season after a disastrous 2022–23 Premier League campaign that saw them drop to 14th.
Fresh off winning their first-ever European championship in June, West Ham had amassed a respectable 10 points through their first five league games, with Man City handing them their lone loss.
Their recent revival has been aided by Jarrod Bowen, although he is currently questionable for this game as he recovers from an injury.
4. Seven in a row?
West Ham and Liverpool have split their last six Premier League matches, with Liverpool coming out on top each time.
The last time the Hammers won in L4 was in 2015 when Brendan Rodgers’ team was defeated 3-0, so you’d have to go back to that year to find it.
The Reds have triumphed over the Hammers in seven of their past eight meetings overall, with the lone loss occurring in the 3-2 loss at the London Stadium during the quadruple-chasing 2021/22 season.
5. Not televised in the UK
Due to the teams’ midweek European commitments, the game was shifted to the Sunday 2pm time slot; nevertheless, UK viewers won’t be able to watch the game this weekend.
On Sunday afternoon, there won’t be a Liverpool game on UK television, despite the fact that we’ve practically grown to anticipate it.
This Is Anfield will have information this weekend about international television, so be sure to check back there.
Salah aims for a perfect score of 10.
When it comes to the two Manchester clubs, the Egyptian King’s record of nine goals against West Ham is only surpassed. The Egyptian King has historically relished this match.
Mohamed Salah leads the Liverpool team in goals against the Hammers in league play, but he hasn’t scored in his past four efforts and will be trying to change that this weekend.
7. The Moyes resume
Only two of David Moyes’ six victories against Liverpool in his last 20 efforts have come from his 39 matches in command of the team.
Although he managed Everton to victory over the Reds at Goodison Park in 2010, he has had very little success since then at his numerous clubs.
8. Expected future changes
With less than a 72-hour gap between games, Jurgen Klopp made 11 changes to his team for the trip to LASK, and there will undoubtedly be more substitutions in the future.
Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister began the match in Austria on the bench, and despite being introduced after an hour, they will undoubtedly start again this time.
Alexander-Arnold’s hamstring injury leaves a question mark at right-back, and Joe Gomez appears to be the most likely contender to replace that position.
9. Coote on VAR
Fans may recall David Coote, who will be observing from Stockley Park, for not punishing Jordan Pickford for a season-ending challenge on Virgil van Dijk during the Merseyside Derby in 2020.
At Anfield, Chris Kavanagh will be in command of the proceedings, with Mat Wilkes, Mark Scholes, and Craig Pawson serving as his assistants on the sidelines.
We can only hope that come 4 o’clock on Sunday, we’re not talking about any of these men as Nick Greenhalgh will be Coote’s assistant in the VAR room!
10. Follow along with us
This Is Anfield is the place to be for all the live updates from Anfield because the game won’t be broadcast on UK television!
On our website, you can access our matchday live blog for an unbiased account of the action on what will hopefully be another successful day.
Reds, let’s keep this train moving!
